Whole family is stuck in a made up reality where my birth father isn't an abusive sociopath and excuse his actions by circling the wagons. I was able to see the truth and get out, but my siblings are all stuck in the cycle of abuse and likely won't ever leave.

+1 for Newpipe, my favorite feature is hiding thumbnails so I don't have to see that stupid fucking "wow" wide-eyes face everyone makes with pointless arrows and circles. Now I just read the video title and my brain hurts less.

I love my work, my boss is great, I have flexible hours and make excellent money doing something I genuinely enjoy. I would still rather not work and just tend to my animals/pets and house all day, cook good food, and play games with friends because that would be far more fulfilling

I wish the lower weapon skills in Morrowind didn't outright miss and make an unsatisfying "swish" sound. Maybe just reduce the damage or something, the early game is so rough because of this.

Some further evidence from playing just now. My friend was sailing the ship and the wind was at our backs, he had to take a phone call so I took over and the moment I sat down the wind abruptly spun around 180 degrees and is blowing in my face. Aaaaaaaaaa

Oh I know about tacking and do that as much as I can, but still find it curious that the wind is always the exact opposite of my intended course lol

You may just be a bit more on the introverted side of the spectrum and that's normal. There are social expectations that we should "have lots of friends" and that college is a time to meet and hang out with people and do crazy stuff to think back on when we are in our 40s. I think those sentiments were created a few generations back when the cost of college wasn't necessarily a concern. But even you, who managed to do it so far without debt, had to think about the cost as a big factor and it impacted how you attended. Surprise! A bunch of young adults trying to get an education while being stressed about a potentially life-altering amount of debt and an uncertain future aren't really in the best place to be social and have fun. My point is don't blame yourself; the system is kind of fucked right now.

If you get your degree that's great, you'll have access to more doors in life and hopefully that means more free time to devote to things you already know you like and maybe some stuff you've yet to find out you like. If you feel like you want more friends, there are social clubs, discord servers, and meetups in towns/cities you can look into to find folks who are more or less aligned with your interests rather than your education level. There is still a lot about life you've yet to see and I think a not-so-great college experience won't be something you think about even a year after graduation.

I think he has a point that fixing the US is somewhat hopeless. There are many pieces that go into the puzzle that is the United States and its citizens and together they create such a hostile and undesirable place that is adamantly resistent to change. Not only were our cities literally demolished to make way for the car, the whole idea of driving and what that means is deeply engrained in our culture and identity.

This isn't just about removing stroads and designing some cutesy livable spaces and parks in cities. This is about changing the identity of what it means to be an American. Do you think you could convince even a portion of Americans that the European old way of living is better than the American way?

It has sort of been said already, but I didn't find a reply stating my exact criticism so I'll chime in. Lemmy and the fediverse is confusing. Instances, federation, de-federating, and all the other techno-garble is not something most internet users have any frame of reference for and I imagine it is very off-putting to a vast majority of potential users.

I'm not usually one to harp on user experience but it's just a mess trying to get into this whole thing. I was driven by a hatred for reddit to figure it out and I'm a software developer by trade, but still was scratching my head at wtf all these terms were and how it all works. Lemmy and the fediverse desperately needs some onboarding/marketing work and to ditch this sentiment of "if you can't figure it out then we don't want you here."

I really wish there was some ethical way of farming dairy cows, but have come to the conclusion that it just isn't with current methods and knowledge. I have some land and love cows so considered getting one or two for hobby-farming and just so I could have my own "cruelty free" dairy. Here are some things to consider about dairy farming:

• Only female cows produce milk.
• Female cows only produce milk for a brief period of time after giving birth.
• Every single cow requires at least one acre of grazing.
• You only need one bull on a dairy farm to provide sperm.
• Baby calves want to be near their mothers and will drink their milk.

The only way to fit these pieces together in any economical way is to: (a) forcefully impregnate cows as often as possible, (b) limit the amount of time calves can be with their mothers so they don't drink all the milk, and (c) slaughter male calves for veal. This is cruel no matter how you slice it. If you are born a cow you are taken away from your mother and given food you don't like and isn't as good for you as the milk that was produced specifically for you. If you are unlucky enough to be a female cow you will spend the next several years of your life being forcefully impregnated and having your own children taken away from you every year. If you are a male cow you'll only know life on earth for a short while before being put out of your misery. In the end, regardless of gender or age, you'll be sent into a long line of other confused and panicked cows to be slaughtered for your meat and organs at a factory staffed by strangers in scary masks you've never seen before with the smell of death and terror all around you. There is no such thing as ethical dairy and any company proclaiming otherwise is not being honest with you or themselves.

Edit: I should say that there are better ways of doing most of the steps in dairy farming that aren't as cruel. But unless consumers are okay paying something along the lines of $20 for a gallon of milk, capitalism will never permit those practices to actually happen.

Also wanted to say that I'm not necessarily against animal products. I have chickens. They are as happy as can be and give us delicious eggs every day. I feed them well and treat them like family and they don't mind me taking their eggs. I really don't see an issue with this exchange because there is no cruelty and both parties benefit. There are numerous examples of this with animals and animal products. However, I believe that dairy is one of those cases where there isn't really an ethical solution. Even if you take the unnecessary cruelty out of the process, you are still left with at least a little cruelty. Where do you draw the line?

You know I went to Europe for the first time thinking I was hopeless when it came to foreign languages. But after spending a week in Germany I could use basic greetings, numbers and was starting to understand some common phrases; a very fun experience honestly. I regret not continuing to learn formally, but if we commit to Germany then I'll have a few years to take lessons beforehand.

Ideally I want to live rural and work remote, same situation I have here, but I understand that is a rare privilege and hard to find everywhere.

That's encouraging to hear. I'm just worried about moving across the world to a place I really loved only to get crooked looks from neighbors when they see my partner and I together, which is exactly the sort of thing I want to get away from. I'm a software developer so I'll likely need to move to a city to find work regardless, but really do enjoy the more rural settings. Thanks for the insight :)